This invention relates generally to heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) systems and more particularly to computer-controlled air vents.
In residential HVAC systems it is not customary to install a HVAC control thermostat in each individual room of a house, and therefore it is difficult to maintain a uniform temperature environment in all rooms. Typically, the only room having a controlled temperature environment is the room in which the control thermostat is located. Frequently, a system using a single control thermostat results in xe2x80x9ccoldxe2x80x9d rooms or xe2x80x9chotxe2x80x9d rooms in other parts of the building, due to exposure, location, heating duct configuration, and other causes. In order to heat a xe2x80x9ccoldxe2x80x9d room, the single control thermostat is typically set at a higher level, but this increases the temperature in the other rooms that are normally at a higher level. In order to cool a xe2x80x9chotxe2x80x9d room, the single control thermostat is typically set a lower level, but this decreases the temperature in the other rooms that are normally at a lower level. As a means of compensating for these temperature differentials, the standard air vents in each room are equipped with manual mechanical louver arrangements which will control the flow of air from 0% to 100%. However, any manual adjustments made to the air vents are static once made. Thus, although a register in a xe2x80x9chotxe2x80x9d room could be manually adjusted to restrict the flow of air passing through it, this adjustment could result in the same room becoming a xe2x80x9ccoldxe2x80x9d space unless the vent is later manually adjusted to the open position.
A particular problem faced by conventional HVAC systems is that the individual rooms of a building have different volumes, and thus are heated or cooled at different rates. For example, in a system having a small room and a large room, the small room will heat and cool more quickly than the large room. When the central thermostat is adjusted to a target temperature, the smaller room typically achieves the target temperature before the larger room, but because the manual air vents remain open, warm or cool air that could be used to heat or cool the larger room continues to pour into the small room, thereby wasting energy and causing overheating or overcooling. Consequently, the smaller room feels stifling or frigid.
An inherent problem with conventional HVAC systems is that they do not provide the proper amount of heating and cooling to all rooms proportionately. Additionally, such systems do not account for the changing variables that affect the thermal management needs of each room. These variables include people and equipment changes, external sun or snow loading, rain, daytime vs. nighttime needs, weekend vs. weekday needs, etc. It is possible to accommodate these changes manually by repeatedly opening and closing the air vents throughout the day, but such procedures are too time-consuming and labor-intensive to be practical or cost-effective. Consequently, uneven heating and cooling of the facility results, with smaller rooms heating or cooling faster (and to a greater degree) than larger rooms. As a result, more energy is consumed than is needed to maintain a comfortable environment.
The shortcomings of residential HVAC systems are more acute in commercial settings, where the cost of heating or cooling small to large buildings significantly impacts the profit margins of the business enterprises that occupy these buildings. The problem is somewhat alleviated in large commercial buildings, which are built to include elaborate cost-saving lighting, heating and cooling control systems that offer significant energy savings. Such systems typically include multiple HVAC zones, with each zone covering one or more workspaces within the building. In smaller business settings most heating and ventilation systems employ a single zone HVAC unit to supply conditioned, heated or cooled air to more than one distinct zone or room. However, in both large and small buildings, each room or zone may have different comfort requirements due to occupancy differences, individual preferences, and exterior heat and cooling load differences. The smaller business types of systems are referred to as single zone HVAC units because they are controlled from one centrally located OFF/ON thermostat controller. In a building having multiple zones that have different heating and cooling requirements, there is often no one, good representative location for the installation of a thermostat controller.
As in residential houses, smaller workspaces in commercial buildings tend to heat and cool faster than larger workspaces. This problem is exacerbated because commercial air vents typically do not include manual adjustment means. Additionally, the air vents found in commercial buildings are often located in the ceilings, which, unlike the ceilings in residential houses, may be approximately 8 feet or more above the floor. Consequently, individuals are often not able to adjust the airflow within their personal workspaces. In cases where manual adjustment means are provided, adjusting the air vents typically necessitates standing on a chair, desk, or ladder, which is inefficient and potentially hazardous.
The prior art provides a number of noteworthy attempts to create systems which address the problems of controlling the diverse needs of single and multi-zoned HVAC systems. Some of these systems describe remote controllers for starting and stopping an HVAC apparatus. Other systems describe wax motors and bi-metallic elements that close louvers disposed within an air register as the temperature of a room increases, and that open the louvers as the temperature of the room decreases. Further systems describe motors connected to louvers for opening and closing the louvers in response to control signals received from a centrally mounted controller. Still other systems describe variable air valve (VAV) units installed within the ducts of a HVAC system and hard-wired to a central remote controller. Yet other systems describe wireless remote thermostats that take over the temperature sensing and control functions of a central thermostat. However, the above systems are disadvantageous on a number of levels.
Firstly, the motorized air registers tend to be mechanically complex and difficult to install. Additionally, the air registers tend not to be computer-controlled. Furthermore, the motors are typically hard wired to a power source. Secondly, the remote control units tend to control the HVAC unit itself and not the individual air registers. Thirdly, the bi-metallic elements tend to open the air louvers as a room cools, thereby resulting in overcooling. Fourthly, where remote controllers are used to start and stop an HVAC unit, uneven cooling results throughout each HVAC zone because the registers within each zone are often manually controlled.
A computer-controlled air vent and methods of using the same are disclosed. In one embodiment, the computer-controlled air vent includes: a top plate; a base connected to the top plate; a component housing connected to the top plate and to the base; a plurality of louvers rotatably positioned within the base; a force-generating means connected to the louvers to rotate them between an open position and a closed position; a temperature sensor to sense an air temperature; a computer processor; a memory; a wireless transceiver; a bus to connect the processor, the wireless transceiver, and the memory; and a remote control device to control the opening and closing of the louvers.